Vinyl Cleaner - Cover stains

[brianbo]

Just re-furbed my pontoon boat with all new (white) seats and a new boat cover. Took it in to the dealer to do some work on the engine and when it came back the new cover (blue) had left marks all over the top of the white seats. Tried to get it to come off with some Armor All type cleaner but didn't work very well. Any suggestions on how to get this off my seats...vinyl cleaner?

Really frustrated that I spent a fair amount on new seats and they already look bad.

 

[Jeep Man]

Re: Vinyl Cleaner - Cover stains

Just re-furbed my pontoon boat with all new (white) seats and a new boat cover. Took it in to the dealer to do some work on the engine and when it came back the new cover (blue) had left marks all over the top of the white seats. Tried to get it to come off with some Armor All type cleaner but didn't work very well. Any suggestions on how to get this off my seats...vinyl cleaner?

Really frustrated that I spent a fair amount on new seats and they already look bad.

The manufacturer of the cover should pay for the damage. Covers should not bleed the color. If you do have to clean it yourself, try Magic Eraser.

 

[brianbo]

Re: Vinyl Cleaner - Cover stains

It was a cover I purchased from boatcovers.com. The material is called "Sunburst." It is their smallest-sized cover (16 foot toon) and cost $400. The cover is warrantied for 5 years so I am going to contact them and see what they say. My fear is they will offer me a new cover but will not take responsibility for the cleaning (or replacement of the seats). I'll let you know how it turns out. Thanks for the help (any other help/suggestions also appreciated).

 

[lakegeorge]

Re: Vinyl Cleaner - Cover stains

Magic Eraser is abrasive, I would make that a last resort. Have you tried Fantastic? that is a good product. Another product you can try is Clorox bathroom spray cleaner, it has Bleach in it so try it on a small spot and wipe it off after a few seconds and see what happens. With the seats being White I think you will be ok with it, rinse with water after trying it.

Get your money back for the cover and go to a canvas shop and talk to them about making you a new one.

 

[Silverskeeter]

Re: Vinyl Cleaner - Cover stains

I used to work for Cobalt Boats( 3 years) . On final inspection for QC we would use mineral spirits on the vinyl to get ink pen marks and things. It works great ,but as with any cleaner try a little test spot first !Hope this helps ,should come off easy !

 

[brianbo]

Re: Vinyl Cleaner - Cover stains

Thanks for the help! I'll give that a try after I talk with the mfgr.

 

[GaryO]

Re: Vinyl Cleaner - Cover stains

I've used 303 Fabric/Vinyl Cleaner and have good results with it. Just stay away from anything that has chlorine in it, unless you rinse with alot of water.

 

[brianbo]

Re: Vinyl Cleaner - Cover stains

Wanted to give everyone an update. I called the manufacturer (boatcovers.com) and told them of the problem. The customer service guy was very helpful. He said it is rare, but occasionally a tarp will have a reaction with the vinyl of the seats and result in a bleed. He indicated it generally happens with aftermarket seats (which these are). He sent me some special vinyl cleaner that they use and he sent me a new cover in a neutral gray. Today it was 50 degrees here in Nebraska so I decided to head to the cabin and see if I could get the seats cleaned up and switch covers. I'm happy to say the stains came off with a little bit of rubbing and the cleaner he sent me. I'm returning the blue cover to him so they can test it.

All in all I'm happy with the resolution and can recommend boatcovers.com for good customer service.

 

[produceguy]

Re: Vinyl Cleaner - Cover stains

brianbo, If you would of bought your top from iboats you never would of had a problem.